For decades the weatherization industry has tracked utility bills as the metric for determining energy savings. But getting good pre and post data often means the turnaround time can be three months or more before the performance results can be assessed. In the quest for faster results and more accurate heating fuel use data, the folks at YShape have come up with a nifty device called the HeetMeter (originally called HeatMeter in their Kickstarter campaign). Developed by a bright MIT grad in conjunction with others, the HeetMeter magnetically attaches to the side of a furnace or boiler and listens for the acoustic signature of a burner firing. It differentiates the sound of a burner from the sound of a blower and can even detect the two firing rates of a two-stage furnace. It then uploads this data to the HeetMeter server via WiFi. The data is stored online for twelve months. The daily consumption results are displayed online along with remaining fuel, HHI (BTUs/sq.ft./HDD), and the fuel costs for the displayed period. The sliders at the bottom allow you to adjust the displayed dates. You can also download the data in CSV format. This author has installed a HeetMeter on an oil-fired furnace and on a natural gas furnace. The ease of installation and setup couldn’t be simpler. After only a day, I started getting daily consumption data. What I find interesting is that I can tell which days I co-heated with wood and can calculate how much the wood heat defrayed my fuel oil consumption. One of the HeetMeter case studies looked at the fuel oil standby consumption for a boiler with tankless DHW. Another case study looked at fuel oil savings after installing a mini-split heat pump. MassSave is running a small pilot to evaluate the HeetMeter for use in determining savings in a relatively short period of time. Based on the two units I’ve been evaluating, I’d say the HeetMeter shows promise for evaluating the energy savings of a given weatherization job in a matter of days, although a couple of weeks would probably be better. If anyone else is interested in using a HeetMeter, contact them at info@yshape.com and let me know how you like it.

A home is the biggest appliance we'll ever own, yet we have no idea what it will cost us until after we sign a 30-year mortgage. A lot of folks pay attention to the yellow label on appliances before they buy, but don't yet have the option to house-hunt by the energy signature of an older home. A home comes with no owner's manual or energy rating, yet even a toaster has those. Most folks simply accept that the monthly energy bill is a given, not realizing they can reduce it with efficiency and conservation, as well as behavior changes.

If we knew the energy factor for our home and how it compared to our neighbors, we might be more incentivized to implement all the recommendations of a thorough energy audit. The DOE’s Home Star program is a great idea for providing energy ratings for homes and should be implemented.